This invention relates generally to security systems, and more particularly to communication between a monitoring station and a customer premises.
Customers often have security systems installed in their homes and/or businesses to monitor for events such as unauthorized entry and fire. Each security system has at least one control panel that communicates with a central monitoring center. The control panel contacts the central monitoring center when an event is detected.
Currently, the control panel and the central monitoring center communicate over standard hard-wired connections such as POTS (plain old telephone service) to transmit both data and voice information. However, traditional physical lines and connections may be disabled from outside the premises, either on purpose or as a result of accident or weather, resulting in unreliable, communication between the control panel and the central monitoring center. Also, a traditional physical line may not be available as many customers are moving away from hard-wired connections, opting instead for wireless capability such as cellular phones.
Therefore, a need exists for reliable wireless communications between the control panel and the central monitoring center.